March of Dimes money stolen at Gaddy light show

The drive-through spectacle of Christmas lights at “The Gaddys” home on Sandy Creek Road has lit the holiday fires of thousands of local residents for some 25 years.

But on Dec. 7 a sticky-fingered Grinch briefly invaded the joy of the scene, taking cash from a March of Dimes donation box on the site to collect funds for the organization that battles birth defects.

The Grinch may not have known that the Gaddys lost two of their grandchildren and are committed to helping March of Dimes. He or she may not even care.

The Gaddys aren’t going to let this dampen the spirit of their holidays, as they recently held their annual Toys for Tots collection night and they will continue to collect money for healthy babies to benefit The March of Dimes.

The Gaddys’ Christmas lights have been a Fayette tradition for some 25 years now, meaning that some parents who were taken for the first time years ago are now taking their children for the first time.

Some might argue your Fayette County citizenship should be revoked if you’ve never made a pilgrimage to the fantastic display, which is so large the groundwork begins in August.

In the Christian spirit of “turning the other cheek,” the Gaddys didn’t even report the theft to law enforcement. That was in large part because, according to Gwen Gaddy, there likely wouldn’t be a way to find the person who did it.